Education and Training Vouchers: up to $5,000 a year for school
If you were in Texas foster care, the ETV program can pay up to $5,000 a school year toward college, trade school or a certificate program. It is a grant, so you never pay it back. This page covers who qualifies, what the money can cover, the deadlines, and the usual forms and documents.
- Up to $5,000 a year
- Ages 16 to 22
- Grant, not a loan
- Works with the tuition waiver
- Apply by Oct. 1, March 1 or July 1
Need a hand with the paperwork? Angels Nest staff will go through it with you. Call 240-242-9716.
ETV deadlines
| Semester | Apply by | Documents by |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Oct. 1 | Dec. 31 |
| Spring | March 1 | May 31 |
| Summer | July 1 | Aug. 31 |
Apply by dates are for the application. Documents by dates are for the paperwork that follows. Technical and trade school deadlines can differ, so ask your coordinator. Past the deadline? Call anyway. BCFS says extensions are available.
Apply at TexasETV.com ETV hotline: 1-877-268-4063What is the Education and Training Voucher?
The Education and Training Voucher, or ETV, is a federal grant for young people who have been in foster care. In Texas the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) runs it through BCFS Health and Human Services in San Antonio. It pays up to $5,000 per school year toward the cost of attending a college, university or career school, and you never pay it back.
ETV is need based. Your school sets a cost of attendance that covers tuition, housing, food, books, transportation and personal expenses. Your tuition waiver, grants, scholarships and any loans you accept come off that number first. ETV can cover what is left, up to the $5,000 cap. If your other aid already covers everything, there is no ETV for that year.
Since June 2017, Texas law has required high school counselors to tell students in foster care about these benefits every year (House Bill 2537). If nobody told you, you can still check whether you qualify and apply.
- Up to $5,000 per school year, counting fall, spring and summer together
- Funding ends at the end of the month you turn 23
- No more than five years of ETV in total, whether or not they are in a row
- You have to be enrolled in at least 6 semester hours, or 3 in summer or for dual credit
- You have to meet your school’s satisfactory academic progress rules for grades and completed classes
- It is not emergency money. Apply early, and turn in every document.
Who qualifies for ETV in Texas?
You qualify if you are 16 or older and in DFPS foster care, or if you are under 23 and aged out of Texas foster care, were adopted or entered Permanency Care Assistance from DFPS care after turning 16, or were emancipated by a court while in care. The category is only the first test. You also have to be in an eligible program, take enough hours, keep your grades up and have costs your other aid does not cover. DFPS staff confirm the foster care part, not your school.
You have to fit one of these foster care categories:
- You are at least 16 and in DFPS foster care, including extended foster care and Supervised Independent Living.
- You aged out of DFPS foster care at 18 or later and are not yet 23.
- A court legally emancipated you while you were in DFPS foster care, and you are not yet 23.
- You were adopted from DFPS foster care after your 16th birthday and are not yet 23.
- You entered Permanency Care Assistance (PCA) with a relative or kin caregiver after your 16th birthday and are not yet 23.
- You were in Texas Juvenile Justice Department custody or on juvenile probation, received Title IV-E foster care payments the day before you turned 18, and are not yet 23.
- You are a tribal youth or young adult in tribal foster care and not yet 23.
You also need:
- A high school diploma or GED, or an exemption from compulsory attendance. High school students taking dual credit classes can apply too.
- Enrollment in at least 6 semester hours. One 3 hour class is enough in summer or for dual credit.
- Satisfactory academic progress (SAP) under your school’s policy. ETV will ask for your grades and schedule each semester.
Live at Angels Nest? Supervised Independent Living is part of extended foster care, so you fit one of the ETV categories while you are with us. The school, hours and grade rules still apply. Because the placement already covers your housing, food and basic needs, your ETV budget cannot include housing, utilities, food, clothing or hygiene. It can still cover tuition at a school that does not take the waiver, books, supplies, a laptop, transportation, childcare and other school costs. Your SIL support does not count as financial aid against your ETV. Ask staff and we will put the budget together with you.
About turning 23. Funding stops at the end of the month of your 23rd birthday. For tuition or housing that covers a whole semester, ETV pays only the share that falls on or before the end of that month. Books you buy before your birthday still count. If your birthday falls during a semester, turn in your documents at least six weeks before it.
Why 23 and not 26? A 2018 federal law lets states extend ETV to age 26 and start it at 14. Texas has not adopted either option. As of October 2026, DFPS and TexasETV.com both set the Texas program at 16 through the month you turn 23.
Who confirms that you qualify?
Your DFPS PAL (Preparation for Adult Living) worker, DFPS Transitional Living Services staff, Adoption Assistance Eligibility staff (800-233-3405), or your tribal representative. They complete the DFPS Verification of Eligibility that goes in with your first ETV application. If you also qualify for the tuition and fee waiver, DFPS PAL or Adoption Assistance staff write that letter separately. Not sure which group you fit? The Texas Children’s Commission has a plain language ETV question and answer sheet written for students.
What can ETV pay for?
ETV pays costs that are part of your school’s official cost of attendance: housing and utilities, tuition and fees at schools that do not accept the Texas tuition waiver, books and supplies, a computer, transportation, childcare, tutoring, personal expenses and school health insurance. Housing, utilities, tuition and training costs come first, and the rest is released to you.
Paid first
- Housing: rent, a dorm, or room and board
- Utilities
- Tuition and fees when the waiver does not apply: private schools, out of state schools, career schools
- Vocational and training program costs
Then the rest
- Books and school supplies
- One computer, plus software and supplies
- Transportation: bus pass, gas, insurance, repairs, even a bicycle
- Childcare
- Personal living expenses, including food, clothing and hygiene
- Tutoring, school health insurance, and anything else your school lists in its cost of attendance
A few limits. Receipts are not required, but the $5,000 maximum is not guaranteed. The award is your cost of attendance minus your other aid. If you mark only one semester on the application, the most you can get for it is $1,666.67. If you are still in foster care or extended care, you cannot budget for housing, utilities, food, clothing or hygiene, because the placement already provides them. Accepting student loans can lower your ETV, and you do not have to accept them.
Which schools and programs count?
ETV works at accredited or pre-accredited public, private and nonprofit schools that offer a bachelor’s degree, at least a two year degree or certificate, or at least a one year training program for a recognized job. That covers dual credit in high school, community college, four year universities, graduate degrees and many career and technical programs. Ask your coordinator to confirm your school and program before you enroll.
- Dual credit classes while you are still in high school
- Associate degrees at a community college
- Bachelor’s degrees
- Graduate degree programs
- Licensed career schools, as long as the program runs at least one year and a for profit school has been open at least two years. Medical assistant and cosmetology programs are the examples the Texas Children’s Commission gives.
- Technical and vocational training for jobs like dental assistant, vet tech, chef, nurse, plumber, heating and air installer, or petroleum engineer
Your school has to be able to calculate a cost of attendance for your program. Online, correspondence and distance courses need prior approval from ETV staff, and some community colleges leave continuing education classes out of their cost of attendance, which would leave you with no ETV for them. Ask before you enroll.
Texas has two state supported technical colleges: Texas State Technical College (ten campuses, including Rosenberg in Fort Bend County) and Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont. Both take the tuition waiver, both work with ETV, and both have a foster care liaison on campus. For private trade schools, check the Texas Workforce Commission list of licensed career schools and colleges.
How is ETV different from the Texas tuition and fee waiver?
The tuition and fee waiver is a Texas law that covers tuition and fees at state supported colleges for as long as you are in school. Most students have to enroll before their 27th birthday to activate it; students adopted with an adoption assistance agreement have no age limit. ETV is federal money, up to $5,000 a year, for the other costs of school, and it ends at 23. At a state supported school you can use both at once.
| Compare | Tuition and fee waiver | ETV |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Texas state law (Education Code 54.366 and 54.367) | Need based federal funds under the Chafee program |
| Where it works | State supported Texas colleges and universities, including Texas State Technical College and Lamar Institute of Technology | Eligible public, private and career schools, in Texas or in another state |
| What it covers | Tuition and fees | Up to $5,000 a school year toward your cost of attendance |
| Ages | No end date once activated. Most students must enroll before 27; students adopted with an adoption assistance agreement have no age limit | 16 through the month you turn 23 |
| Credit hours | No limit | At least 6 semester hours a term, or 3 in summer or for dual credit. No more than five years of funding |
| Grades | No GPA requirement | Satisfactory academic progress under your school’s policy |
| How you get it | A waiver letter from your DFPS PAL worker, handed to the registrar | A new application every school year at TexasETV.com |
The waiver also works for online classes at a Texas school while you live in another state, and it has no limit on credit hours. You qualify for the waiver if you were in DFPS conservatorship on any of these days (full list at DFPS):
- The day before your 18th birthday.
- The day of your 14th birthday, if you were also eligible for adoption on or after that day.
- The day you graduated from high school or earned the equivalent of a diploma.
- The day you were adopted, if that was on or after September 1, 2009.
- The day Permanent Managing Conservatorship was granted to someone other than a parent, if that was on or after September 1, 2009.
- You were 14 or older on or after June 1, 2016 and left DFPS Permanent Managing Conservatorship to return to a parent.
- You were 16 or older on or after June 1, 2016 and left DFPS Temporary Managing Conservatorship to return to a parent.
- You were in DFPS conservatorship the day you enrolled in a dual credit course.
Students adopted with an adoption assistance agreement qualify under a separate section of the law with no age limit on enrolling. Everyone else must enroll in a state supported college or university before their 27th birthday to activate the waiver.
How do you apply for Texas ETV?
Three steps: file the FAFSA, submit the ETV application at TexasETV.com for the school year, then turn in your documents. BCFS processes each application and document within 7 business days, and nothing is paid until every required document is in and processed.
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File the FAFSA
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid at studentaid.gov. It opens each fall, usually October 1, for the following school year, and you file it every year. Texas seniors have to complete the FAFSA or the state TASFA, or sign an opt out, to graduate, so you may have started one already. If you were in foster care at any time since you turned 13, the FAFSA counts you as an independent student, which means no parent information.
Some grants run out, so file early. You do not have to accept loans, and any loan you do accept can reduce how much ETV you get. Your school’s financial aid office or a DFPS transition center will help you fill it out. ETV needs your financial aid award letter, so keep it.
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Apply for ETV at TexasETV.com
Submit one application per school year, with the online ETV application (recommended) or on the paper form. Check every semester you plan to attend, fall through summer, because you can only budget for the semesters you marked. Use your full legal name, answer every question, and ask your coordinator about anything you do not understand instead of leaving it blank. Click Submit and wait for the Thank You page.
The application for the 2026 to 2027 school year opened May 1, 2026. For help filling it out, call Drew Melton, ETV Specialist, at 210-294-0497 or email dm1117@bcfs.net.
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Turn in your documents
Your coordinator will tell you which documents apply to you. Upload them at texasetv.com/document-upload or send them to your coordinator. Send the whole document, make sure screenshots are readable, and keep a copy of everything. Documents are due Dec. 31 for fall, May 31 for spring and Aug. 31 for summer.
Nothing is paid until all of your documents are processed, and TexasETV.com says to allow 20 days for a check. Tell your coordinator every semester you plan to attend, and send your current grades and schedule when they ask.
What documents do you need?
Use the first list if you have never received ETV. It includes the DFPS eligibility verification and, if you have one, your tuition and fee waiver letter. Students who have received ETV before use the second list and add an unofficial transcript. The forms are on the TexasETV.com documents page.
First application
You have never received ETV funds before.
- ETV application and participation agreement
- DFPS Verification of Eligibility (DFPS staff fill this out)
- Tuition and fee waiver letter (DFPS staff, if available)
- Financial aid award letter, or a billing statement from a vocational school
- Class schedule
- Student classification (freshman, sophomore, and so on)
- Budget worksheet
- Request of Funds form with its supporting documents
- ETV direct deposit form
The two DFPS letters only have to be turned in once, with your first application.
Update application
You have received ETV before and are applying for a new school year.
- ETV application and participation agreement
- Financial aid award letter, or a billing statement from a vocational school
- Class schedule
- Student classification
- Unofficial transcript
- Budget worksheet
- Request of Funds form with its supporting documents
- Direct deposit form
Needed documents are decided case by case, so your coordinator may ask for something not on this list.
How does the budget worksheet work?
The budget worksheet is your plan for how you want ETV spent across the semesters you applied for, and it is not set in stone. Put only ETV money on it. Leave out scholarships, grants, work study and your paycheck. If you are still in foster care or extended care, leave housing, utilities, food, clothing and hygiene at zero.
| Item | Fall | Spring | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing (rent, or room and board) | $1,200.00 | $1,500.00 | $2,700.00 |
| Utilities | $400.00 | $500.00 | $900.00 |
| Books | $300.00 | $300.00 | $600.00 |
| Food | $400.00 | $200.00 | $600.00 |
| Clothes and personal hygiene | $200.00 | $0.00 | $200.00 |
| Total | $2,500.00 | $2,500.00 | $5,000.00 |
How to request your ETV money
ETV does not hand you $5,000 up front. The Texas Foster Youth Justice Project describes the order: ETV first pays tuition, housing and utilities directly where that applies, then releases the remaining balance to you once you turn in a Request of Funds form. Each payment needs one. The form used to be called a purchase voucher, and some paperwork still says so:
- Housing. Attach the first and last page of your lease, or a Renting Together Contract.
- Utilities. Attach a copy of the bill.
- Release of funds to you. For everything else, paid to you, usually by direct deposit.
Most students need no more than three per semester. If you are 21 or older, one Request of Funds for release to you is usually enough.
Under 21 and not on the lease? Fill out a Renting Together Contract if you are under 21 and you either do not pay rent or utilities, or your name is not on the lease or the bill. It is a legally binding agreement between you and your landlord or roommate, and every line has to be filled in. Students under 21 who want the whole award released to them have to show proof that housing and utilities are paid.
Tips from the ETV coordinators
These come straight from the BCFS team that reads the applications.
- Submit one application per school year. The online form is the one they recommend.
- Tell your coordinator every semester you plan to be in school.
- Use your full legal name on every document.
- Fill in the entire application. Ask about anything you do not understand instead of leaving it blank.
- Click Submit and look for the Thank You page. If it does not appear, ask your coordinator whether the application arrived before you send another one.
- Check that screenshots are readable and that you sent every page of the document.
- Keep a copy of everything, on paper or on your phone.
- Apply as early as you can. ETV is not emergency money, and TexasETV.com says to allow 20 days for a check.
- Join the Remind group for students: text @etv24 to 81010, or go to remind.com/join and enter class ETV24. BCFS also posts reminders at facebook.com/TexasETV.
Who do you call about ETV?
Start with the ETV coordinator for your DFPS region. Angels Nest is in Spring, Texas, which is DFPS Region 6, so for most of our residents that is Elizabeth Solis. If you cannot reach your coordinator, call the ETV hotline. Current list from TexasETV.com on October 25, 2026.
4346 NW Loop 410, San Antonio, TX 78229. Email about past applications.
Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm. How to file a foster care complaint
Not sure what region you are in? Check the DFPS region map.
The DFPS state office contacts come from the BCFS training deck dated March 2026. Your local PAL coordinator is listed on the DFPS PAL coordinators page.
What other help is there for school?
ETV is one piece. Current and former foster youth in Texas may also qualify for PAL aftercare money, a transition center, a foster care liaison on campus and two DFPS scholarships. Each has its own rules.
- PAL aftercare. A Transitional Living Allowance of up to $1,000, aftercare room and board help of up to $3,000 until 21, case management until 21, Medicaid until 26, and Texas Workforce Commission services and a DFPS education specialist until 25. DFPS Transitional Living Services.
- Transition centers. One stop shops in each DFPS region. The BCFS centers offer ETV help, PAL classes, housing and job help and a computer lab; services vary by center. In Houston it is the HAY Center, run by Harris County Resources for Children and Adults, for ages 14 to 25. All transition centers.
- A foster care liaison at every Texas public college. One staff member at each school who knows these benefits and often runs a foster care alumni group. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board keeps the directory. School districts have liaisons too.
- DFPS scholarships. The Freshmen Success Fund gives four one time $1,000 grants a year to first time freshmen who were in DFPS foster care and enroll at a Texas state supported college, university or trade school that takes the waiver, for books, a computer, tools, uniforms or transportation. The Ed Davis PAL Scholarship pays $1,000 a year to former foster youth in their sophomore, junior or senior year majoring in government, history, political science or another pre law field. Both depend on funding. Details at DFPS.
- Scholarship searches. Fastweb, College Board BigFuture, Scholarships.com, CareerOneStop and the Communities Foundation of Texas.
- Emergency help. Foster Love Rapid Response funds basic needs like a laptop, utilities or groceries for students referred by a partner organization. Findhelp.org lists free and low cost help by ZIP code.
- A bank account. DFPS and Capitol Credit Union offer no fee checking and savings accounts to foster youth ages 14 to 21, in your own name with no cosigner, plus online money classes with rewards. DFPS Financial Pilot Program. The ETV document list includes a direct deposit form, so you will need an account.
- Housing. Foster Youth to Independence vouchers through local housing authorities, for ages 18 to 24 who left foster care, or will leave within 90 days under a transition plan, and who are homeless or at risk of it. DFPS Youth Housing Program.
- Food and health coverage. Our guide to SNAP and Medicaid for Texas foster youth covers the Lone Star Card, keeping Medicaid until 26, and how SNAP treats ETV money.
- Free legal help. The Texas Foster Youth Justice Project helps current and former foster youth with benefits, records and denials at no cost.
Questions students ask about ETV
Is ETV a loan?
No. ETV is a grant, not a student loan. The Texas Children’s Commission puts it plainly: it does not need to be paid back.
Can I use ETV and the tuition and fee waiver at the same time?
Yes, if you qualify for both. At a state supported Texas college the waiver covers your tuition and fees, and ETV can then cover books, a laptop, transportation and the other costs in your school’s cost of attendance, up to $5,000 a year. Housing, utilities, food, clothing and hygiene count too, unless you are still in foster care or extended care.
I live in Supervised Independent Living. Do I still qualify?
Living in SIL puts you in one of the ETV categories, because it is part of extended foster care. You still have to meet the school, hours and grade rules. Your SIL placement already covers housing, food and basic needs, so your ETV budget cannot include housing, utilities, food, clothing or hygiene. It can cover books, supplies, a computer, transportation, childcare and tuition at a school that does not take the waiver. SIL support does not count as financial aid against your ETV.
What if I only take classes one semester this year?
Mark just that semester on the application. The most ETV can pay for a single semester is $1,666.67, which is one third of the yearly cap. If you decide to add a semester later, tell your coordinator.
What counts against my ETV?
Educational aid. The Texas Children’s Commission lists the tuition waiver, grants, scholarships and any loans you accept as the money subtracted from your cost of attendance before ETV fills the gap. A paycheck, SNAP food benefits and the PAL Transitional Living Allowance are not educational aid. If you are not sure how something you receive will be counted, ask your coordinator before you fill out the budget worksheet.
Can I take online classes with ETV?
Usually, but get approval first. Online, correspondence and distance courses need prior approval from ETV staff, and your school has to include the course in its cost of attendance. Some community colleges leave continuing education classes out, which means no ETV for them.
I turn 23 this school year. What happens?
Funding stops at the end of the month you turn 23. Semester long costs like tuition or housing get prorated to that date, and books you buy before your birthday still count. Turn in every document at least six weeks before your birthday so the payment can go out in time.
I was denied. Can I do anything?
Yes. The Texas Foster Youth Justice Project’s advice is to ask your coordinator what was missing and reapply, and if you think your cost of attendance or financial aid was calculated wrong, to raise it with the coordinator’s supervisor or the DFPS state office Transitional Living Services staff. The Justice Project itself gives free legal help to current and former foster youth, and the HHSC Foster Care Ombudsman takes complaints at 1-844-286-0769.
Where do I get the DFPS verification letter and the waiver letter?
Ask your DFPS PAL worker or Transitional Living Services staff for the ETV eligibility verification. If you were adopted or entered Permanency Care Assistance, Adoption Assistance Eligibility staff handle it (800-233-3405). Tribal youth can use their tribal representative for the ETV verification. The tuition and fee waiver letter is separate and comes from DFPS PAL or Adoption Assistance staff if you qualify. Both go in once, with your first ETV application.
Classes that go with this
Want help with your ETV application?
Angels Nest staff will sit down with you, check which group you fit, and go through the application, the budget worksheet and the documents. Call us, or start the application now.
Call 240-242-9716 Apply at TexasETV.comSources
This guide is built from the sources below, checked on October 25, 2026. Rules change. If your coordinator tells you something different, ask which current rule applies, and remember the Texas Foster Youth Justice Project gives free legal help.
- Texas ETV (BCFS Health and Human Services): eligibility, application, documents, coordinators
- DFPS: Education and Training Voucher (ETV) Program
- DFPS: State College Tuition Waiver
- Texas Children’s Commission: ETV frequently asked questions (PDF)
- Texas Foster Youth Justice Project: Aging Out Guide, ETV
- BCFS: Navigating the Post-Secondary Education Pathway for Foster Care Alumni, training deck, March 2026
- Texas House Bill 2537 (85th Legislature), counselor notice of foster care education benefits
- DFPS: Family First Prevention Services Act summary (federal ETV age options)
- Federal Student Aid: FAFSA
- Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board: Foster care liaisons
- DFPS: Transitional Living Services and PAL aftercare
- DFPS: Scholarships for current and former foster youth
Last updated October 25, 2026